


living for the hope of it all

by shybear_styles



Series: i'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me [3]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: M/M, but they're also pretty good friends who are tired of all the pining, pierre and daniel are terrible friends, these boys are soft for each other, this is set in austria 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:47:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27335905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shybear_styles/pseuds/shybear_styles
Summary: “Oh, I see how it is. Daniel is clearly your favorite.” The other boy grumbles out, but it’s clear that he’s fighting a smile.“No, don’t worry. You’ll always be my favorite.” Charles meant for it to come out in a joking tone, but from the surprised smile on Max’s face, he only managed to sound stupidly earnest.It’s not like it was a lie.
Relationships: Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen
Series: i'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982944
Comments: 8
Kudos: 88





	living for the hope of it all

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very sorry if this is bad, I've been struggling with it for about five hours now and did not know what else to do.
> 
> To the surprise of absolutely no one, this is for [Kamila](https://twitter.com/lan_wangjis). I was bullied into writing this after today's mess of a race because she wanted something sweet and, to be honest, so did I. Not sure I delivered, though.
> 
> It was only after writing and posting this that I found that Charles was announced as the next Ferrari driver in September, and this is set in July. I changed his conversation with Max just a little to fit the actual dates. Sorry about that, everyone!

Charles can hear the music even before the elevator’s doors open.

He arrives at the rooftop of the hotel where most of the drivers are staying during the weekend, Pierre by his side, and is immediately surprised by how _loud_ it is. The entire place is packed with members of the teams and quite a few drivers. He supposes is fitting, this is a double celebration after all, with Daniel’s birthday and Max’s race win. 

He still feels ridiculously proud of Max for managing to win. He held Kimi back like a true champion and the deafening screams from the Orange Army were something that the Monégasque is sure the other driver is still hearing in his head. 

He made sure to text him with congratulations as soon as he could get to his phone, not really expecting to get a reply until much later. But, after a couple of hours, he got a text asking about which hotel he is staying at and if he could make it to the party Red Bull had organized for both drivers.

Feeling flustered, he said that he’d try to show up and immediately looked for Pierre for a brief freak out. His best friend was extremely unsupportive, but agreed to keep him company and try to stop him if he starts to act too much like a fool in front of Max, as he usually does.

Both drivers find Daniel by the bar, laughing with a few people who Charles doesn’t really know.

“Boys! You made it!” He exclaims happily as he sees them and pulls both into a hug.

“Happy birthday, mate.” Charles laughs into his shoulder, Pierre echoing the sentiment beside him.

“Thank you, thank you. I was hoping for a podium as a gift, but what can you do, right? I’m just glad to have your illustrious presence.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m pretty sure that Charles came because of Max.” Pierre says with a smirk. “Did you know that Max texted and asked him to come tonight?”

“Shut up, Pierre.”

“He did what?” Daniel exclaims and they both smile at each other, completely ignoring Charles. “I guess he needed the adrenaline of a win to man up.”

Charles is about to complain, but he is distracted by Max showing up. He hasn’t seen them, busy talking to Christian Horner and two other guys, a huge smile on his face and a drink in hand. Charles didn’t get a chance to see him in person at the paddock, but it’s clear how happy he is with his win.

“Why do you have that lovesick look on your face?” Daniel asks suddenly and the Sauber driver looks back at him. Before he can question the choice of words, the older driver is looking around. “Ah, should have known. MAX! Come say hi to Charles and Pierre.” Daniel yells.

A few people turn to look at them, but Charles tries to ignore it in favor of looking at Max who, after saying something to the people he was talking to, comes over.

“Congratulations on your race, mate.” Pierre is the first to say something and he steps forward, giving the Dutchman a quick hug.

“Thanks. Sorry about yours.” Max replies after they separate and the Frenchman shrugs. 

“Congratulations.” Charles smiles and steps forward to hug him. He feels one of Max’s hands come up to rest on his back and the other driver rests his chin on his shoulder briefly. “You were amazing out there.”

“Thank you. It felt amazing.” They hug for a few more seconds before Charles steps back. “And you got points as well, congratulations.”

They stand there, just smiling at each other. Max’s blue eyes are shining with happiness and Charles can’t do anything but stare until Daniel starts talking.

“Okay then, we clearly won’t be missed here. Pierre, come with me, I want to introduce you to someone.” The Australian says and shares a look with Charles’ friend.

“Sure, let’s go. _I will leave you and your crush alone_.” Pierre says in French with a sly smile on his face and Charles is thankful for the low lighting hiding how red his cheeks get. 

“ _Shut up and go away. Now._ ” He mumbles, and his best friend follows Daniel, the two of them leaning closer and whispering about something.

When he turns to look back at Max, the Red Bull driver seems to be surprised by something.

“Everything okay?” Charles asks worriedly.

“Yeah, it’s good.” A smile appears on his face and he gives a little nervous laugh. “It’s great. I’m glad you could make time in your busy soon-to-be Ferrari driver schedule to come.”

“I already told you that it isn't official yet. They might change their minds." He very much hopes that they won't. Driving for Ferrari would be a dream come true, one that he never thought would happen so soon, but he _wants_ with every fiber of his being. "Besides, I couldn’t miss the celebration.” Charles replies with a smile. “Daniel’s birthday is important.” He can’t help but laugh at the outraged expression on Max’s face. “And I suppose you’re worth celebrating too.”

“Oh, I see how it is. Daniel is clearly your favorite.” The other boy grumbles out, but it’s clear that he’s fighting a smile.

“No, don’t worry. You’ll always be my favorite.” Charles meant for it to come out in a joking tone, but from the surprised smile on Max’s face, he only managed to sound stupidly earnest.

It’s not like it was a lie.

“MAX!” Someone near the pool calls and Max turns to look at them.

“Go, you’re the star tonight. I’ll see you around.” The Monégasque winks at him and laughs. Max’s face goes through a lot of emotions before settling on a soft smile.

“See you around then.” He says and walks away.

\----

Charles is alone watching the view from the rooftop when he feels someone by his side. Turning his head, he sees Max. The party is winding down by now, with a lot of people already back in their rooms or off to celebrate somewhere else. Pierre is nearby talking to Brendon, but Charles wanted some moments of silence, so he wandered off to admire the view.

“You look drunk, race winner.” He says and the other boy laughs, his cheeks a little red and face scrunching up. His eyes are almost closing from how big his smile is and Charles feels his heart clench with affection.

“I am a little tipsy, yes.” He’s looking intently at Charles and the smile on his face slowly starts to give way to a more serious expression.

Max seems to be worrying about something and the Monégasque doesn’t really know what to say. Does it have to do with him?

“Hey, Charles.” Max’s gaze moves to some place near his shoulder and, after a few seconds where he seems to be gathering up the courage to speak, he looks up into the other driver’s eyes and Charles is, once again, struck by how blue his eyes are. “Did you know that I speak French?”

Well, that was definitely not what he was expecting.

“No? I mean, no, I did not.”

“Well, I do. Not fluently, but I know enough to carry a conversation.” Max replies and Charles is lost. Why would he mention knowing French out of nowhere? Charles didn’t even speak French in front of him.

Oh. Oh, _no._

Fucking Pierre and his big mouth, this cannot be happening.

“That’s cool.” Charles is _panicking_ , okay? He is two seconds away from running out of the rooftop and getting on the first plane back to Nice. “That’s really cool. You know, I am not feeling good and should probably leave. Yes, I’ll leave.”

He has barely turned around when he feels Max’s hand closing around his wrist. His heart is racing and _he can probably feel how fast it is, why is this happening?_

“Don’t leave. Please.” The Dutchman’s voice is low, with a slight tremble and Charles has always been weak when it comes to Max. He faces him again, but keeps his eyes downcast and focused on the hand around his wrist, warm and slightly sweaty. “I thought that Pierre must have been messing with you earlier, that what he said wasn’t true… But from your reaction, it wasn’t just a joke. Right?”

There’s something so incredibly vulnerable in Max’s voice when he finishes that the Sauber driver is surprised for a moment. He’s never heard the other boy sound like that and feels compelled to reassure him, even if it ends up with Max never wanting to speak to him again.

“He was messing with me, but it wasn’t a lie.” Charles forces himself to speak loud enough to be heard by the boy in front of him. “I… Do like you. A lot. And have for a while.”

They are both silent for a few seconds, the noise from what’s left of the party reminding Charles that they are very much not alone here. Thankfully their hands are hidden from view.

“Do you remember, back in 2016, when we met after the race in Brazil?” Max breaks the silence with another weird question and Charles is looking back at his face before he realizes.

“Yes, I do.” How could he forget? He was so _obvious_ in his infatuation that it was a surprise that Max didn’t realize right away how gone he was for him already.

“Daniel made fun of me for weeks after that because of how I reacted to you.” He must see the confusion on the Sauber driver’s face, because he continues. “He said that it was sad how much I was pining for you and that I should say something. He still says that, but I never thought that you would like me as anything more than a friend. I didn’t even think you considered me a friend, until last year when we started talking more often.”

“But… What?” This is the most confusing conversation in Charles’ life and Max’s hand around his wrist isn’t helping him think straight. “Are you trying to say that you like me? And that you didn’t know I like you too?” 

“Yeah.”

“But how could you not know? I have been very obvious, according to Pierre and Daniel.”

“Daniel?” Max looks surprised by that.

“Well, yes. We talk sometimes and… Oh,” Charles is realizing that, while Daniel has been trying to convince him to tell Max about his feelings, he’s been doing the same thing to the Dutchman. _And the fact that Max apparently has feelings for him is going to take a while to sink in_. “I think he has been trying to get both of us to talk to each other.”

“That sounds like Daniel.” Max says fondly. “Well… We’re talking now.”

“Yes.” Charles agrees, but a tiny voice inside his head keeps telling him that this is not the time for this conversation. “But you are drunk.”

“I’m not that drunk.” Max says firmly. “Promise. The alcohol probably helped me work up the courage to talk to you after hearing what Pierre said, but I’m not going to forget about this tomorrow. Or regret it.”

“Still…” Charles has to admit that he is a little flustered. He isn’t used to being so close to Max, being touched by him and having his full attention for so long. “I don’t think we should talk here. Or tonight.”

With that, the other driver seems to remember where they are. He looks around and sees that there are still quite a few people present, with Daniel, Pierre, Carlos and Brendon in one of the sofas near them, but still far enough away to give them some kind of privacy. 

“Okay. When are you leaving for Silverstone?”

“Tuesday, I think.”

“Do you want to go out for dinner tomorrow?” Max asks and the Monégasque can feel his heart racing again, the blood rushing to his cheeks.

“I… Yes, I’d like that.” Charles is struck by the beaming smile he gets in response to that and can’t help but smile back at the other boy. _Be cool, Charles, at least once_. “It’s a date.” He winks.

“Can I tell you something?” Max’s thumb has started rubbing circles on Charles’ wrist and the boy is having a little trouble focusing, but he nods anyway. He’s smiling as he steps forward, close enough for them to feel each other’s body heat, and leans in, his face now close enough for Charles to feel his breath on his cheek. “You can’t wink for shit.”

What.

“What?” He splutters and pulls back, confused and maybe a little offended. The Red Bull driver is trying to contain his laughter now and keeps Charles from stepping away with the hand still holding on to his wrist.

“Sorry, but I had to say it. You tried to wink earlier too and it was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen, but… Wait, let me finish.” Max says softly when Charles makes to pull back again, his face red from embarrassment now and turned the other way. The Dutchman steps close to him again and squeezes his wrist. “Your whole face just did something really weird and you blinked both of your eyes, and it was so confusing but also very endearing.”

Charles, face still burning, looks back at him with suspicion. The other boy is still smiling softly and his eyes are focused on Charles’.

“I want an apology.” Charles mumbles out and Max laughs.

“What, from me? But I just told you the truth.”

“Yes, that’s not a very polite thing to say to someone you just confessed to liking.” He says primly.

“Very well.” The other boy laughs again, letting go of Charles’ wrist for the first time. The Monégasque immediately reaches out to hold his hand and keep him close, making sure that his body is still hiding them from view. “I am sorry, Charles, that you are incapable of winking.”

“That’s not a very good apology. And it’s not what I meant.” 

“Well, let me make it up to you then.” Max says lowly and the hand not being held by Charles moves up to touch his side.

“Oi, lovebirds!” Daniel's loud voice appears out of nowhere and both boys jump, moving away from each other and hands dropping. “You’re both looking very cozy and I truly hate to break this up, but you’ve been here for a while and we’re not exactly alone.”

Charles is still reeling from what almost happened before Daniel’s interruption and he ignores Max’s angry “What the fuck, Daniel.”

“C’mon, let’s go talk to other people. And it’s still my birthday, so you’re both obligated to pay attention to me.” The Australian very pointedly steps between the two of them, placing both arms around their shoulders and starts guiding them towards the sofa where the other drivers are sitting.

“Long time no see, boys.” Pierre says smugly and Charles wants to throttle his best friend. And then hug him a little for making it all happen. He settles for glaring before sitting down beside him, knocking their shoulders together. Daniel sits in front of them, arm still around Max, and immediately starts talking about something with Carlos, sitting on Max’s other side.

Charles pretends to pay attention to the conversation, but he spends quite a while staring at Max and trying to fight the blush caused by the Dutchman smiling at him.

He can’t wait for their date tomorrow.


End file.
